More than 18 years after a devastating fire left the Owego business district reeling, a new $2.9 million mixed-use housing development has opened in the space.

On Thursday, the Governor's Office of Storm Recovery announced the development at 200-204 Front St.

The three-story property just east of Lake Street features eight one-bedroom apartments and 3,500 feet of commercial space on the ground floor.

“We know that safe and resilient housing is the foundation of strong communities," said Thehbia Hiwot, the executive director of Housing, Buyout and Acquisition Programs at the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery, in a statement. "Through the state’s Small Project Affordable Rental Construction Program, we can increase the number of affordable units in storm-impacted areas, while reinvigorating the surrounding neighborhoods."

Gateway Owego was built in the village's business district and helps to bring businesses back to the Front Street location that had been destroyed by a fire in July 2000.

The fire on July 1, 2000, started by a guitar amplifier in a third-floor apartment, destroyed the Cracker Barrel antique store and the Laughing Place toy store, and left more than a dozen people homeless.

Several shops temporarily closed or relocated to nearby spaces because of smoke and water damage. Afterward, several of the damaged buildings were demolished, giving pedestrians an unobstructed view of the Susquehanna River.

Other businesses along the block, including the former location of the Goat Boy and the Cellar Restaurant, were also damaged by the fire.

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Eleven years later, severe flash flooding and subsequent flooding along the Susquehanna River damaged 85 percent of the area's homes and businesses.

"Gateway Owego has literally and figuratively filled a void on historic Front Street and will help to rejuvenate it into the vibrant commercial center that it once was," said New York State Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas in a statement. "By bringing both affordable housing resources and retail space to the corridor, the development will attract visitors and residents alike, and will help the Southern Tier continue to soar.”

The Owego Gateway Building on Aug. 31, 2018.(Photo: James P. Malone Sr.)

The one-bedroom apartments in the building will cost between $895 and $995 a month to rent.

Tioga County Tourism will be one of the tenants in the commercial space. It will be used for new visitors center.

The development was funded through by the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery's Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Program. The project was also financed by a Restore New York Grant. CPC is providing a $524,000 permanent loan through its funding agreement with the New York State Common Retirement Fund, and a $2.6 million private construction loan, and the developer is contributing equity toward the construction of the project.

The project was developed by Nelson Development Group LLC, with the assistance of New York State Homes and Community Renewal, Empire State Development, the Village of Owego, the Community Preservation Corp., and Tioga County Department of Economic Planning and Development.